L-shaped aprons on tubs or pony-wall?

We want to redo our bathroom but we have an interesting bathtub that though it has seen better days, is chipped in a lot of places. It is only surrounded by 2 walls and has what I'd guess would be called an L-shaped apron around it (from the 40s or 50s). I can't seem to find a new one so we're thinking we have to build a pony wall. Is that so, or do those style tubs still exist? If not, can we build a pony wall just barely above the height of the tub or should it be significantly higher? We've got lots of people who know how to do DIY but this one is stumping people and since it's the only bathroom in an old row-home we need to do it right.

It seems as though they were really popular in the 1930s-50s. It is original to our 1950s row-home it appears. I found a company that still makes them for $2200, so now I'm thinking of looking at either a salvage reseller or a refinisher. Just unsure of whether they can refinish/surface a tub with a few knicks in the enamel.